Gary Aikema

Two city-wide priorities, and how to achieve them

• Taxes and accountability: he says taxes are very high and that the City has had no financial statements since 2022; he wants to examine spending detail, citing $185 million on consultants over five years and about 900 added staff in four years (his figures).
• Rural road safety: better signage, cleared vegetation and four-way stops at dangerous rural intersections (e.g. Fifth Concession at Middletown and Westover roads) before fatal collisions rather than after.

Two changes to improve City services

• Efficiency of delivery rather than more services: he says Hamilton has plenty of services but they are not efficiently provided. (He did not name two specific changes.)

Two changes to improve quality of life in Hamilton

• Make Hamilton a place where everyone can live comfortably; he calls people living in tents unacceptable and says high taxes add to the strain.
• Do things “better and cheaper”: avoid infrastructure the City cannot afford or may not need.

Two priorities for Ward 13

• Rural road safety (see above).
• Road condition and maintenance: fix potholes in a consistent, efficient way rather than piecemeal, and improve Public Works performance.

Three words for a four-year term (looking back from September 2030)

No three words given. He described himself as practical and hands-on and said he wants to see what he proposed carried out.